The first Africans arrive at us under a radically redrawn refugee program: NPR

The first group of white South African refugees arrived in the United States on Monday under President Trump's executive order, requiring resettlement to prioritize, despite the wider refugee program being pending primarily.

Fifty-nine Africans, primarily descended from Dutch settlers, were subjected to rapid reviews that took months, and were brought to the US on a government-characterized flight and greeted by federal government officials at Dulles International Airport.

On Monday, the family arrived at the airport with their luggage. The children wore pajamas and carried small American flags and stuffed animals while their parents walked them through private plane hangers.

Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau greeted the families, shook hands and took photos.

“Welcome to America,” Landau told his family. “I want you to know that you're really welcome here.”

But their entry into the US drew scrutiny from the US resettlement agencies, which have faced rapid budget, resources and personnel cuts since Trump took office.

During his initial enforcement actions, Trump temporarily suspended the refugee resettlement program. Various agencies, including the State Department, have suspended funding for key services such as family, work and school assistance poised for Africans to receive.

The suspension disrupted the refugee resettlement agencies as they received notification that their flight had been cancelled as they had already allowed refugees to arrive to the United States.

Among the people left behind in Limbo were Afghans who worked with the US military. This is a move that some Republicans have criticized. The judge has ordered the government to at least reopen refugee programs for those who have already been approved for travel, but the administration is fighting court orders.

When asked whether the administration would resume its wider refugee resettlement programme, Landau told reporters that it was “still a continuing consideration.”

“Some of the standards are to ensure that refugees do not challenge our national security and that they can easily assimilate into our country,” he said of the decision to bring Africans.

Anglican Church Ends Refugee Partnership

The Anglican Church announced Monday it would end its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing its moral opposition to resetting white Africans.

The Bishop's Immigration Ministry said it had been notified by the federal government that some of the refugees were expected to resettle.

“It was painful to see a group of refugees selected in a very unusual way, but it has received priority over many other people who have been waiting for refugee camps and in dangerous situations over the years,” added the church chair Rev. Sean Lowe, who has also been the one who has escaped persecution, including Afghans and Christians.

His South African-born advisers, Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump, are all voices about what they say.

“What's going on in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why refugee programs were created,” Deputy Director Stephen Miller told reporters last week. “This is a protected trait, in this case a race-based persecution. This is a race-based persecution.”

Miller doubled the administration's efforts to limit the broader refugee programme.

“The US refugee program was a catastrophic failure,” he said of the application of past administration programs. Trump's change is “an example of a president returning to his intended refugee program,” he continued.

More Africans eligible for resettlement

On Monday, the US embassy and consulate in South Africa issued a notice about the refugee hospitalization program, which states that they are “victims of unfair racism among Africans and South African minorities.”

“Today, the United States will send a clear message in conjunction with the administration's first US foreign policy agenda that America will take action to protect victims of racism,” State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

To be eligible to consider resettlement, an individual must be South African national, be a member of the African ethnicity or a racial minority of the country, and be able to clarify his past experiences of persecution or fear of future persecution.

One of the agencies that support resettlement is the US Commission for Refugees and Immigration. They serve 14 Africans in Idaho, Iowa and North Carolina.

“We will continue to play our part regardless of country of origin,” USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash said in a statement from NPR. “We hope that the arrival of this refugee group will demonstrate the government's intention to reopen the US refugee program and support other refugees who need resettlement services.”

– Support from Jack Jenkins of the Religious News Service and Michel Kelemen of NPR.